NUMB3ERS
CBS
by kelly
What a crappy new show. The commercials for this one totally drew me in but within the first 15 min of the show I was ready to change the channel. The premise is that all crimes can be figured out using math. The older brother is the FBI agent is played by Rob Morrow who is best known that show Northern Exposure. His younger brother and math genius is played by David Krumholtz* who was in movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, Slums of Beverly Hills and Sidewalks of New York. Their father is played by Judd Hirsch who no matter what role he is in I still say he's Dear John and Peter MacNicol plays the math genius' mentor/colleague.

The first episode had the FBI agent (Don) stressed over a serial rapist/killer who has killed one too many times. Don stops by his Dad's place to shower and change and go back to the office. Of course he is carrying all these papers and blueprints about the crime and leaves them lying about so younger brother and math genius Charlie can look at them. Since Charlie's brain is always working in NUB3ERS he convinces Don that he can pinpoint where the killer lives based on the pattern he has generated through the dumping sites of his victims. Charlie's first calculations gave them a five block radius and the FBI crew jumped on it gathering DNA from all the men that lived in that area on the sly (you know picking up used tissues and coffee cups) because it would have been too late to get warrants to get everyone's DNA. I just love how the FBI just totally followed whatever this geek told them. Turns out, Charlie was wrong and his calculations didn't work. He then turns to his mentor who gives him some inspirational speech or some piece of wisdom like maybe you need more variables in your equation. BINGO thanks Peter MacNicol now can you start dancing to Barry White like you did in Ally McBeal? With his new perspective on the equation, Charlie sets out and narrows the place of the crimes origin to one block. See math can be used to solve crime. Meanwhile Don got demoted for following such a stupid lead in the first place – I can't even believe that he convinced two of his colleagues to go with him to Charlie's second location. Good thing they did because it was the house and they got the guy before he had a chance to kill again. Yay Math!

Dad (Judd Hirsch) is apparently only there for some comic relief with is one or two line zingers. Oh and CBS' website says the show is Inspired by actual events – what actual events crime or the solving them through math? Of course math is the answer and Math will always be the answer for solving crime in NUMB3ERS.

You know I actually can't believe I watched the whole episode but then again the remote was on the other side of the room and I was too tired to get up for it.

*correction: David Krumholtz was in Freaks & Geeks but only in a cameo role for one episode. And I still think Freaks & Geeks was one of the best shows in the past 10 years.